


as sweet as sugar

by glacecherie



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 15:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12084327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glacecherie/pseuds/glacecherie
Summary: Sid studies and raises his little girl, Geno works at a coffee shop and keeps bees. Somehow, their paths cross.





	as sweet as sugar

The whole thing happens by chance.

 

Sid is running late getting Rosie ready for her sitter because she'd put her raincoat somewhere when she came in from the garden (but couldn't remember where) which isn't exactly helpful when half the house is still covered in boxes, bubble wrap, and packing peanuts from the move.

  
Sid had found it - stuffed under a sofa cushion with the pockets full of crayons - but it meant that she couldn't have her usual Saturday breakfast.

A small thing maybe, but not to a three year old.

She'd started off with a sniffle, but by the time they're out the house and waiting for the elevator it's turned to full on sobbing.

"W-wanted toast, daddy!" She hiccups, as she takes a reluctant bite of her rusk and looks completely betrayed. "Toast. Two of them".

 

Sid fusses with her coat. He should have organised things better. On Saturdays she always has two pieces of toast with honey.

She pauses to wipe her nose on her (clean) jumper as Sid tries to explain that she couldn't have had it anyway, because they don't know which box the honey is in.

It's at that critical point - Sid trying to wipe his squirming, embittered daughter's snotty nose, and getting covered in crumbs as she shoves her dratted biscuit into his jumper - that Hot Lanky Neighbour makes his appearence.

Sid wants the ground to open up and swallow him.

Hot Lanky Neighbour smiles at him, then yawns, letting them into the lift first when it arrives, even though he's got his arms full of grocery bags. Rosie is still sniffling, but she's not bawling so much now that she has something - or someone - new to look at.

"Don't stare, it's rude." He whispers to her, but she's stubborn, and if anything stares even more.

The elevator rattles and groans as it makes it's slow descent (why did they choose the 12th floor why why why), and Sid is debating how to awkwardly introduce himself, because he can't say Rosie is being rude and then ignore his new neighbour, that's just hypocrisy, and besides-

"Hello!" Rosie says, and smacks sid in the face as she waves.

Great.

She's never been shy, which he's always thought of as a good quality, but now he isn't so sure.

"Hello." Hot Lanky Neighbour says in return, and sticks his tongue out at her, which is apparently hilarious.

There's a beat of silence, then they start talking at the same time.

"Hello, sorry we haven't introduced ourselves, we're from number-"

"You just move into number 87, ye-"

Sid flushes and sticks his hand out. Rosie copies him, because she's currently in a phase of mimicking people, usually at the worst of times.

"I'm Sid, this is Rosie."

"Evgeni." He replies, and shakes each of their hands, which Rosie is delighted by.

Sid mouths his name without thinking, trying to sound it out, and Evgeni huffs a laugh.

"Call me Geno, is easier for you Sid." He says, smirking.

"I will!" Sid says stupidly, and Geno snorts.

Sid mentally makes note to bang his head against the wall when Geno leaves.

The life dings for floor number 5, and Geno makes to get off.

"Is my stop. Bye Sid."

"Um, yeah. Bye, bye Geno." He murmurs absentmindedly, because he's just been staring at him like a dumbass.

"Bye Rosie!"

"Bye, bye, bye!" She shouts back, with more face-smacking waving.

It's only when he puts her down that he realises Geno has left a grocery bag behind.

Sighing, Sid grabs it and tries to negotiate the bag, Rosie's rucksack, and Rosie herself, who isn't particularly concerned with hurrying out the building.

"Come on, quick, we need to be quick." He says, half to himself.

Rosie grumbles to herself. She's getting a proper personality now, and it mostly seems to be a headstrong one. Add that to her teething (again) and it makes for a fairly uncooperative baby who insists on walking rather than being carried.

It takes 15 minutes to walk two blocks to the coffee shop where the new sitter said she'd meet them, because Rosie found a bunch of autumn leaves she NEEDED for her collage.

-

"All her stuff is in there, and there's spare clothes if she needs then. Those are in the back pocket." Sid says when the sitter asks if there's anything else she needs to know.

Maria nods, clearly used to panicky parents. She has red curly hair with a sparkly clip in it that Sid can tell Rosie is going to make a grab for. She's got that calculating look about her, working out what she needs to climb to get it.

Sid hauls her back on his lap and pretends that holding tight is entirely because he doesn't want to see his baby rip a chunk of hair from someone and not, yknow, because he doesn't want to let go of her.

Rosie huffs, but settles, if only because it gives her an opportunity to be nosy and look in the bag Geno forgot.

"I'm sure we'll be fine - we're going to the park to see the ducks and geese, then we'll head back to mine for lunch and to do some homework."

Sid takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He'd interviewed a bunch of candidates before settling on her, because she structured the days of the kids she was looking after, but also took them to educational sorts of places - museums, parks, that kind of thing.

Somehow, it doesn't quite abate the anxiety of handing her over.

"Oh, and she doesn't like dried apricots, if you give her a fruit snack."

Marie makes a note in her mobile planner. She's very organised and well presented. It's reassuring.

Sid dusts a stray piece of biscuit away as the barista (the one with the missing tooth) brings their drinks over.

"And you have our address?? The consol building?"

Sid's caramel machiatto is set down before him.

"I live there too. We practically neighbours." The batista chimes in, and Sid jumps.

"Oh? Oh, um. Hello." Sid replies, and squints at his name tag. "Alex". He'll try and remember that.

He drifts away again after giving Sid a once over, and Maria stirs some honey into her tea then replaces the lid, packing up her things.

Rosie squirms in Sid's hold, probably chomping at the bit to go and harass the animals in the park, whom she always seems to think will make great pets.

"Honey! Found it!" She exclaims, as Sid distractedly zips up her coat and tucks her mittens in the pocket.

"Well done, it is!" He says, ttying to hurry her. She's so clever.

Rosie frowns and makes her whiny grumbling noise that usually means he isn't getting it.

"No, in here!" She says, pointing at the bag.

Sid peers in. Huh. Four jars of honey and a little plastic box of chunks of the honeycomb itself. Who buys that much honey? Who needs that much?

"Toast!" Rosie says gleefully, reaching, and Sid slides her off his lap.

"Later, sweetheart. You have to go now, daddy needs to do his homework. Time for you to go feed the ducks."

That makes her move, happily toddling over to take Maria by the hand and give her a look as though to say "come on, what are you waiting for?"

Good luck he mouths at Maria, and kisses rosie on each cheek.

"Be good!" He tells her, seriously.

"I'll try!" She says, and then she's gone.

Sid let's out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and gives himself ten minutes to gather his wits and finish his drink.

It's barely 11am and already he wants to sleep for roughly a year.

-

Later, when he's taking a break from essay writing - it's intense, even as a distance learner programme - He figures he'll go and take Geno his stuff back. It's definitely not an excuse to just like...look at him. Everyone knows it's important to take breaks when studying. It helps.

The fact he changes into a new t shirt and makes sure his hair looks passable is just a coincidence.

Besides, it might be important. Geno might be a big fancy baker or drink industrial amount of tea or something. He's just being a good neighbour.

-

Geno is not a big fancy baker, but he does keep bees, and he does bully Sid into coming in for a drink.

"Bullying" is the excuse Sid will tell himself later, anyway, when he's rushed off his feet trying to catch up on his reading. Bullied and definitely not just thirsty.

"You new?" Geno says, snapping him out of his internal fretting.

Sid fiddles with his empty mug as they wair for the tea to steep.

"Yeah, we've only been here three weeks. I still haven't unpacked, really. It's been busy. Sorry we haven't introduced ourselves properly."

"Is fine, you already better than the last person."

"Oh?"

Geno gets a conspiratorial look to his face and leans closer. Sid does most definitely not feel himself go slightly pink.

"She a witch." He whispers. "She always angry, her and big ugly cat. Never say anything, just stare and pace."

Sid knows he's being fucked with when Geno starts smirking, tongue poking out between his teeth.

"It'd explain the horrible cat tapestry in the bathroom." Sid says, pretending that he isn't still bright red. "It's creepy."

"Definitely cursed." Geno says gravely, expression sorrowful, and lays his hand on Sid's forearm. "Afraid you'll be chased out by it, like horror movie. Would be a shame."

Sid's mind helpfully blanks. Was that flirting? Was it just being friendly? Is Sid going to replay this exchange later and kick himself for being so awkward??

"So, the bees!" He says, and promptly wants to punch himself in the face. _So, the bees._ What kind of stupid motherfucking thi-

"Yes!" Geno exclaims, apparently oblivious to Sid's turmoil. "Been keeping for a year now. Doing good, best honey in Pittsburgh."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Keep on community allotment. Tried growing things too, that...not so good. Mice eat it all. Could buy traps but...."

He trails off, looking upset at the mere thought.

Sid needs to like, dial back how charming he's finding him. Like, a lot.

"I'm the same, sort of. Rosie had to grow a bean in a jar last year for school. We were supposed to measure it twice a week, but it died within days. It was...bad."

Sid shudders thinking about how it went mouldy after Rosie insisted that it just needed more water, and more, and more.

"She yours?" Geno asks, pouring the tea.

"Yeah, I adopted her when she was tiny. Just 2 months old. So tiny."

Geno gets a soft sort of look to him that makes something weird clench in his chest.

"She at school yet?" He says, and Sid gets distracted looking at his hands as he stirs a (frankly alarming) amount of honey into his tea. He has nice hands.

"Oh! Yeah, well - pre school. She's doing so good. She's so stubborn, though. Yesterday she insisted that she had to wear her hair in braids because her best friend was getting braids. Apparently my attempt was-"

"Bad?" Geno supplies.

"No! Not bad, I used to get coerced into doing Taylor's - my sister's - growing up, but those were simpler. Rosie wanted like, fish braids, fishtail ones. They're different because the-"

"Is okay, Sid" Geno says, patting his arm. "Can't be good at everything."

Sid huffs, indignant.

"Whatever. Do you - your family, are they here too, in pittsburgh?"

"Oh, no. Mama and papa and Denis, they all still in russia. They visit, I go home in summer. Like it here, though. Feels like - here is home, now."

There's something there, Sid thinks, some bittersweetness, but he doesn't want to push.

"Do you miss it?" He says before he can stop himself, brain apparently not giving a single fuck about making things awkward, as per usual.

"Sometimes. Others...not so much. See the news sometimes and...not so much." He pauses for a drink, and Sid looks at the smudgy sweep of his lashes as he does.

"What about you? You miss home?"

"Oh, for sure. Sometimes. It's nice to visit for the holidays and to go for a few days, but here I have my own space, I can breathe, yknow? Besides, here is all Rosie's ever known."

"Is okay, I get. Mama visiting in November and already feel like I should be getting ready."

Sid can't hold back from smiling. This is nice.

"I'm sure it'll go okay,  Geno."

Geno raises his eyebrows.

"You haven't met! Mama scary lady. Nice, beautiful, best, but scary! Sasha meet and get terrified!"

"Sasha?"

"Oh, Alex. Awful man. Friend, but awful. Works at coffee shop and always talk about handsome man who comes in - he too afraid to ask out. Coward!"

_Oh, oh._ Okay. That's reassuring, at least, that he's talking about his friend's not straight crush with good humor. Sid's stomach flips slightly.

"What about you?" he says before he can stop himself, and wow, is he going to slam his head against the wall when he leaves. "Do you -- have anyone?"

Geno laughs, amused but maybe a little sad too.

"Have nobody like that, Sid. No boyfriend, no girlfriend. "

Oh.

Their eyes catch for a second or two.

Sid looks away first and drains the dregs of his tea, startling when he glances at his watch. He's barely going to have any time to work before Rosie gets back.

"Oh, jeez. It's three already."

Geno snatches his cup out of the way as he hurries to put his coat back on, only just missing knocking it to the floor.

"Something happen at three?"

"Oh, no, I just have homework to do. I was taking a break and now I barely have time to finish up before rosie gets in, and then I have to make dinner and -"

Geno squeezes his shoulder when he passes Sid a jar and a box of something. Sid is too distracted by how tactile he is for a second to actually look at what he's been handed.

Huh, a jar of the honey and a box of tea. Sid squints to read it russia-

"Russian caravan tea." Geno supplies helpfully. "Is good, hearty. Smoky, a little. And honey good for stress."

"Geno, you don't have to-"

"Nonsense, want to give. Sid need it."

Sid flounders for a second

"How did you know I was stressed?" He says lamely.

"Have baby and studies, be weird if not stressed."

_Stop being so nice,_ Sid thinks. You want to help with stress, you should try not being handsome and nice and making me want to get down on my knees and - oh wow, time to nip thay train of thought in the bud.

He still feels himself go bright red anyway. Fantastic.

"She's not that much stress, she's good. Mostly. Unless she's teething, then she's liable to bite."

Geno laughs.

"Terrible. Like when I'm home and all kids in family think is okay to dog pile me. Is how I broke my nose."

"Oh, god. Were you okay?"

Geno waves his hand.

"Was fine. Only happened because I'm try to carry all at once, one round each leg, one under both arms, one on shoulders. Tripped and hit face, kids think is very funny, I bleed onto best shirt."

Sid can't contain his grin, nor the weird pang of heat that goes through him about the fact Geno loves kids. Christ.

"Oh, you think is funny? Just wait til you fall over some toy and do same."

"I won't do that!"

He's not going to say that he almost fell to his death when Rosie left one of her skates in the door way and he was too stacked up with shopping bags to see it. He's trying to look at least half way competent and not like he's just muddling through and hoping for the best.

"I'm believe when I see." Geno smirks, and Sid genuinely wants to grab him and kiss him and hope that he'll kiss back harder.

Wow okay, he's going home now

"I'll get going." Sid murmurs, zipping up his hoodie even though he's only going down the hall. It's almost dusk and it'll be chilly, he reasons. It definitely isn't just an excuse to have something to do with his hands.

Geno walks him to the fucking door because of course he does, handing sid his gifts

"See you soon." He says, lingering as he double checks to make sure he's got everything. Maybe it's be better if he did forget something. It'd be an excuse to come back, at least. 

He's so smooth.

"Hope so, Sid." Geno grins, and holds the door for him.

Sid waves and exits. He'd swear up and down that he feels Geno's eyes rake over him as he makes the short walk down the hall, but he's sre as hell not looking back to make sure.

Whatever, he's going to put this whole thing out of his head, read the remaining 20 pages of this week's reading material, and make Rosie her dinner. 

And maybe have some tea.

Who knows, maybe their chance encounter was a one time thing. Maybe they won't even see each other much. 

(He still hopes the opposite is true, no matter how much the practical bit of his brain says that he doesn't have time to fawn over Hot Lanky Neighbour aka Geno aka the man Sidney would let do unspeakable things to him.)

Whatever. Things are gonna be fine. 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god I'm so nervous posting this because I've been working on it for so long. Hope you enjoyed so far!


End file.
